May 13, 2005

Boston: Muslim Leaders Sue Press for Defamation

From Boston.com, "Leader with Islamic organization sues Boston Herald, WFXT-TV," with thanks to Mary Beth.

BOSTON -- A leader of the Islamic Society of Boston has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Boston Herald and WFXT-TV, alleging news reports unfairly linked him to radical Islamic terrorists.

The complaint filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court by Osama Kandil alleges that a series of Herald stories published beginning in October 2003 and a WFXT broadcast in November 2004 destroyed his reputation. The lawsuit accuses the Herald and WFXT of "sensationalizing a story that Dr. Kandil ... was linked to radical Islamic terrorists and that both he and the ISB (Islamic Society of Boston) presented a danger to the community."

Kandil, chairman of the Islamic Society of Boston's trustees, is a biomedical researcher and U.S. citizen living in Egypt...

The complaint is the second filed in three months by an official of the Islamic Society of Boston. Dr. Yousef Abou-Allaban, chairman of the organization's board of directors, sued WFXT in February, alleging the Fox television affiliate erred in identifying him as a member of the terrorist group the Muslim Brotherhood. That complaint involves the same WFXT story cited in Kandil's lawsuit.

The complaint by Kandil also focuses on a front-page Herald story from Oct. 29, 2003, that reported he was allegedly linked to a network suspected by investigators of supporting Islamic terrorists, and that he was leader of an Indiana-based group "known for its anti-Western rhetoric." A Herald story more than two months later reported Kandil "has deeper involvement with organizations and individuals suspected of funding terrorism than previously disclosed."

In a statement, Kandil said reports linking him to terrorism and an anti-American agenda were false. He said he believes in "moderate and tolerant Islam."...